Volume-regulated anion channels (VRACs) are multimeric proteins composed of different paralogs of the LRRC8 family. They are activated in response to hypotonic swelling, but little is known about their specific functions. We studied two human individuals with the same congenital syndrome affecting blood vessels, brain, eyes, and bones.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe CALHM proteins constitute a family of large pore channels that contains six closely related paralogs in humans. Two family members, CALHM1 and 3, have been associated with the release of ATP during taste sensation. Both proteins form heteromeric channels that activate at positive potential and decreased extracellular Ca concentration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChimia (Aarau)
December 2022
The SLC11/NRAMP proteins constitute a conserved family of metal ion transporters that are expressed in all kingdoms of life. In humans, the two paralogs DMT1 and NRMP1 play an important role in iron homeostasis and the defense against pathogens. SLC11 transporters have evolved an exquisite selectivity for transition metal ions, which facilitates their efficient transport from a large background of Ca2+ and Mg2+.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAgonist binding in ligand-gated ion channels is coupled to structural rearrangements around the binding site, followed by the opening of the channel pore. In this process, agonist efficacy describes the equilibrium between open and closed conformations in a fully ligand-bound state. Calcium-activated chloride channels in the TMEM16 family are important sensors of intracellular calcium signals and are targets for pharmacological modulators, yet a mechanistic understanding of agonist efficacy has remained elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMembers of the SLC26 family constitute a conserved class of anion transport proteins, which encompasses uncoupled transporters with channel-like properties, coupled exchangers and motor proteins. Among the 10 functional paralogs in humans, several participate in the secretion of bicarbonate in exchange with chloride and thus play an important role in maintaining pH homeostasis. Previously, we have elucidated the structure of murine SLC26A9 and defined its function as an uncoupled chloride transporter (Walter et al.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe transport of transition metal ions by members of the SLC11/NRAMP family constitutes a ubiquitous mechanism for the uptake of Fe and Mn across all kingdoms of life. Despite the strong conservation of the family, two of its branches have evolved a distinct substrate preference with one mediating Mg uptake in prokaryotes and another the transport of Al into plant cells. Our previous work on the SLC11 transporter from revealed the basis for its Mg selectivity (Ramanadane et al.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA central regulatory mechanism of iron homeostasis in humans involves ferroportin (FPN), the sole cellular iron exporter, and the peptide hormone hepcidin, which inhibits Fe transport and induces internalization and degradation of FPN. Dysregulation of the FPN/hepcidin axis leads to diverse pathological conditions, and consequently, pharmacological compounds that inhibit FPN-mediated iron transport are of high clinical interest. Here, we describe the cryo-electron microscopy structures of human FPN in complex with synthetic nanobodies and vamifeport (VIT-2763), the first clinical-stage oral FPN inhibitor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVolume-regulated anion channels (VRACs) participate in the cellular response to osmotic swelling. These membrane proteins consist of heteromeric assemblies of LRRC8 subunits, whose compositions determine permeation properties. Although structures of the obligatory LRRC8A, also referred to as SWELL1, have previously defined the architecture of VRACs, the organization of heteromeric channels has remained elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTMEM16F, a member of the conserved TMEM16 family, plays a central role in the initiation of blood coagulation and the fusion of trophoblasts. The protein mediates passive ion and lipid transport in response to an increase in intracellular Ca. However, the mechanism of how the protein facilitates both processes has remained elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTMEM16A, a calcium-activated chloride channel involved in multiple cellular processes, is a proposed target for diseases such as hypertension, asthma, and cystic fibrosis. Despite these therapeutic promises, its pharmacology remains poorly understood. Here, we present a cryo-EM structure of TMEM16A in complex with the channel blocker 1PBC and a detailed functional analysis of its inhibition mechanism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMembers of the LRRC8 family participate in the response of vertebrate cells to osmotic changes in their environment. These proteins form heteromeric assemblies composed of the obligatory subunit LRRC8A and at least one of the other four homologs, which together function as anion-selective channels with distinct properties that are activated upon cell-swelling. The hexameric complexes share a conserved architecture consisting of a membrane-inserted pore domain with an ion permeation path located at the axis of symmetry and cytoplasmic leucine-rich repeat domains that regulate the open probability of the channel.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMembers of the ubiquitous SLC11/NRAMP family catalyze the uptake of divalent transition metal ions into cells. They have evolved to efficiently select these trace elements from a large pool of Ca and Mg, which are both orders of magnitude more abundant, and to concentrate them in the cytoplasm aided by the cotransport of H serving as energy source. In the present study, we have characterized a member of a distant clade of the family found in prokaryotes, termed NRMTs, that were proposed to function as transporters of Mg.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMembers of the LRRC8 family form heteromeric assemblies, which function as volume-regulated anion channels. These modular proteins consist of a transmembrane pore and cytoplasmic leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domains. Despite their known molecular architecture, the mechanism of activation and the role of the LRR domains in this process has remained elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Tweety homologs (TTYHs) are members of a conserved family of eukaryotic membrane proteins that are abundant in the brain. The three human paralogs were assigned to function as anion channels that are either activated by Ca or cell swelling. To uncover their unknown architecture and its relationship to function, we have determined the structures of human TTYH1-3 by cryo-electron microscopy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe exposure of the negatively charged lipid phosphatidylserine on the cell surface, catalyzed by lipid scramblases, is an important signal for the clearance of apoptotic cells by macrophages. The protein XKR9 is a member of a conserved family that has been associated with apoptotic lipid scrambling. Here, we describe structures of full-length and caspase-treated XKR9 from in complex with a synthetic nanobody determined by cryo-electron microscopy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
February 2021
The anion channel TMEM16A is activated by intracellular Ca in a highly cooperative process. By combining electrophysiology and autocorrelation analysis, we investigated the mechanism of channel activation and the concurrent rearrangement of the gate in the narrow part of the pore. Features in the fluctuation characteristics of steady-state current indicate the sampling of intermediate conformations that are successively occupied during gating.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe binding of cytoplasmic Ca to the anion-selective channel TMEM16A triggers a conformational change around its binding site that is coupled to the release of a gate at the constricted neck of an hourglass-shaped pore. By combining mutagenesis, electrophysiology, and cryo-electron microscopy, we identified three hydrophobic residues at the intracellular entrance of the neck as constituents of this gate. Mutation of each of these residues increases the potency of Ca and results in pronounced basal activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe transport of substances across the placenta is essential for the development of the fetus. Here, we were interested in the role of channels of the calcium homeostasis modulator (CALHM) family in the human placenta. By transcript analysis, we found the paralogs CALHM2, 4, and 6 to be highly expressed in this organ and upregulated during trophoblast differentiation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn humans, the divalent metal ion transporter-1 (DMT1) mediates the transport of ferrous iron across the apical membrane of enterocytes. Hence, its inhibition could be beneficial for the treatment of iron overload disorders. Here we characterize the interaction of aromatic bis-isothiourea-substituted compounds with human DMT1 and its prokaryotic homologue EcoDMT.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCystic fibrosis is a hereditary disease that originates from mutations in the epithelial chloride channel CFTR. Whereas established therapies for the treatment of cystic fibrosis target CFTR to repair its function, alternative therapeutic strategies aim for the restoration of chloride transport by the activation of other chloride transport proteins such as TMEM16A or SLC26A9 or by the application of synthetic anionophores. TMEM16A is an anion-selective channel that is activated by the binding of Ca from the cytoplasm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe epithelial anion transporter SLC26A9 contributes to airway surface hydration and gastric acid production. Colocalizing with CFTR, SLC26A9 has been proposed as a target for the treatment of cystic fibrosis. To provide molecular details of its transport mechanism, we present cryo-EM structures and a functional characterization of murine Slc26a9.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe lipid scramblase TMEM16F initiates blood coagulation by catalyzing the exposure of phosphatidylserine in platelets. The protein is part of a family of membrane proteins, which encompasses calcium-activated channels for ions and lipids. Here, we reveal features of murine TMEM16F (mTMEM16F) that underlie its function as a lipid scramblase and an ion channel.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFScramblases catalyze the movement of lipids between both leaflets of a bilayer. Whereas the X-ray structure of the protein nhTMEM16 has previously revealed the architecture of a Ca-dependent lipid scramblase, its regulation mechanism has remained elusive. Here, we have used cryo-electron microscopy and functional assays to address this question.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTMEM16A is a ligand-gated anion channel that is activated by intracellular Ca. This channel comprises two independent pores and closely apposed Ca binding sites that are contained within each subunit of a homodimeric protein. Previously we characterized the influence of positively charged pore-lining residues on anion conduction (Paulino et al.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVolume-regulated anion channels are activated in response to hypotonic stress. These channels are composed of closely related paralogues of the leucine-rich repeat-containing protein 8 (LRRC8) family that co-assemble to form hexameric complexes. Here, using cryo-electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography, we determine the structure of a homomeric channel of the obligatory subunit LRRC8A.
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